Santa Fe mayor David Coss is going to introduce a measure to save taxpayers some money. He wants to cut the city’s contracts for bottled water.

Here’s the story, reported by the Deming Headlight:

“Santa Fe has high-quality tap water, and there’s absolutely no reason our city should be buying bottled water,” said Mayor Coss. Supporting the efforts … is a coalition of environmental and labor organizations, public officials, and small businesses, who have all signed onto a letter encouraging Governor Richardson to cut bottled water spending at the state level.

Las Cruces is also considering making a similar move and Albuquerque has already taken action. Supporters say that up to 40 percent of all bottled water comes from the tap and that while consumers may think that bottled water may be cleaner, there are actually less regulated.

I called Mayor Coss’ office Friday afternoon to ask how much money Santa Fe expects to save through this measure. I was told the mayor and the city manager were out of town. Once I get a figure, I’ll post it.